Friday, October 18, 2013

How can you help the environment

We are always looking for innovative ways to engage everyone in the green movement.  Sometimes very small steps have huge repercussions...and significant positive benefits.

This strikes us as one such program.  We hope you down load it.  For more information, log onto our main site--enewablenow.biz/main.html




When Joe Miller found out that students on university campuses were printing Jeff Flath4 billion sheets of paper per year, he knew something had to be done. Armed with the understanding that students would continue to use paper for academic purposes, he set out with the mission “what we can’t reduce, we must offset.” His company, Print a Forest, aims to plant 75 trees for every tree used for the printing of paper. It’s a free software application that relies on a sponsorship revenue stream to donate to nonprofit reforestation efforts in endangered forests.  Print 100 Pages.  Plant a Tree.  In this way we could turn 4 billion pages, into 40 million trees.

  • PROFILE: Joe Miller
  • Company : Print A Forest
  • Company description: Eco-Smart Software Solution
  • Website: www.printaforest.com

Print a Forest is free computer software that transforms our users printer into a tree planting machine. Print 100 Pages. Plant a Tree.  All it takes is downloading the easy-to-use software (watch video for step by step instructions) and allowing a brand to sponsor the pages you print with a small message across the footer of the page, sort of like a small banner ad you see on the web.  Little messages, plant big trees.  Our reforestation partners plant a tree for every 100 pages our users print.

As a virtual printer, the user opts in by selecting Print a Forest as their printer when printing from any application.  This causes the Print a Forest software to pop up.   Ask what printer the document should be sent to, show a print preview of the document with inserted “branded footnote”, and inform the user of how many trees they have planted.   We plant climate change fighting trees in National Forest’s with The Arbor Day Foundation, and hunger fighting, fruit bearing trees in Detroit community gardens with the Greening of Detroit.

 Joe what are you working on now?

Print a Forest is free computer software that allows users to plant a tree for every hundred pages they print.  Print 100 pages.  Plant a tree.  Use Print a Forest’s software and be open to a small message from a brand across the bottom margin of the pages you print. Participation transform the users printer into a tree planting machine.

Users print from their own computer, to their own printer, but through our software.  Branded footnotes from advertising sponsors fund one of our non-profit reforestation partners planting 75 new trees for every tree worth of paper our users print.  With Print a Forest anyone can have their printer turn into tree planting machines and literally print a forest.  The free software is available for download at printaforest.com/download.

 Where did the idea for Print A Forest cone from?

As a university student I was frustrated with the amount of paper that I needed to print, around ten pages of notes for every class.  I tried not to print off my class notes to the point where my grades suffered.  It’s impractical to type notes as a fiance major.

I began to realize the magnitude of the issue with the 45,000 students at my University printing 9 million pages a year on campus printers, and no doubt millions more pages being printed off campus.  Extrapolating on the known figure of 9 million, we can reasonably assume nationwide students print 4 billion pieces of paper just on campus.  The clearing of 530,000 trees to supply students with printing paper needs was unacceptable.  Students, environmentally conscious or not will continue to print hard copies of notes for their convenience.  This is a given.  But what we can’t reduce, we must offset.  So I created software that allows you to print, when you have no other choice, but do it in a environmentally friendly way.

 What does your typical day look like?

I like to keep things fresh.  Consistently my day involves some sort of exercise.  Either biking, running, kayaking or yoga.  Also, I try and cook a meal once a day.

 How do you bring your ideas to life?

Action.  Figure out the little things you can do, and keep taking steps forward.  If you can’t build a prototype.  Take a survey or create a 1.0 pilot, so that when you get to the next level you have something real to show.   Talk to as many people as you can.

 3 trends that excite you?

Urban agriculture, farmers markets, community gardens.  During WWII Americans produced 40% of produce in Victory Gardens.  With community gardens we could declare a war on food insecurity.  That’s why Print a Forest is setting up a partnership with Greening of Detroit to make part of our reforestation initiative planting hunger fighting, fruit bearing trees in Detroit community gardens.

  What is the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

Honestly, I have been fortunate enough never to have a bad job.  My hardest job was in high school working for a carpenter during the summer building houses.  10 hour days moving lumber and it was exhausting,  but I just thought about it as training for the football.  Spending a summer carrying 2 by 4s up flights of stairs was all worth it in the 4th quarter when the season started..

  If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

I would have spent more time in school learning about technology, maybe some programming.  It may be a lost cause trying to learn how to write code.  Language, has never been my thing.  But I wish I had a  base of knowledge because there was a step learning curve when building the Print a Forest software.  Of course I couldn’t have known that.  I wanted to go into green building.

 What is the one thing you did/do as an entrepreneur that you would do over and over again and recommend everybody else do?

Work out of a co-working space.  Over the summer I worked out of Green Spaces, a coworking space for green and social conscious startups, small businesses and freelance entrepreneurs.  As close to a utopian community, and space as you could possibly work out of.  It’s really does take a community to foster growth, and at Green Spaces you instantly join a group of bright minds working to make the world a better place.  If you are ever moving to a new city explore the coworking spaces....
- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/green-entrepreneur.html#sthash.I5sAqSFU.dpuf

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